Success in Besalú This past July (6-14), the 2nd International Course on Medieval Music, supported by the Foundation for Iberian Music, was held in the scenic and well-preserved medieval city of Besalú, Catalonia. The course offered a unique nine-day immersion in medieval music performance, designed for both singers and instrumentalists. Attendees learned an array of monophonic and polyphonic music repertories spanning from the 12th to the 14th century. Specifically, the course involved: Two days of Gregorian chant with Juan Carlos Asensio Five days of secular music from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries Two more days of Ars nova with Cristina Alís Raurich. This year’s course was attended by over thirty students, hailing from such countries as Russia, England, Belgium, France, Norway, Mexico, and Poland. For more information about the course see their website, or their Facebook page.
The Creative Pulse: A Conversation with Philip Glass 15 October 2013: The Fall 2013 Music in 21st-Century Society lecture will feature composer Philip Glass discussing his music and how the process of artistic collaboration with exceptionally creative minds (including Robert Wilson, Allen Ginsberg, Ravi Shankar, and Godfrey Reggio, among many others) has shaped his musical output. These artistic partnerships have undoubtedly had an impact on New York’s cultural landscape and, in the process, have contributed noticeably to the creative economy of the city. Glass will be in conversation with MacArthur Prize-winning flutist Claire Chase, director of the International Contemporary Ensemble, who will also perform. More here.
Displacing the Voice: Popular Music in Spanish Cinema 4 April 2014: The Foundation for Iberian Music at The Graduate Center of The City University of New York is proud to sponsor the first international conference focused on the Spanish cinematic soundscape. From the 1990s onwards the aural dimension of cinema has become an established field of research, but it has not been until much recently that scholars have started paying attention to how Spanish cinema sounds and how sound articulates the representation and negotiation of wider social-historical phenomena. This conference aims to bring together film and music scholars and hispanists to foster and consolidate sound as a field of inquiry within Spanish film scholarship and film as a privileged site to understand how music means and matters for Spanish society. The conference will take place in April 2014 at the CUNY Graduate Center, New York. Click here for the program, and here for the abstracts of the presenters. More information on the presenters can be found here.
Artist-in-Residence Receives Award 13 August 2013: Sato Moughalian artistic director of Perspectives Ensemble, has been awarded the 2013 Ramon Llull Award for the Creative Arts. This prize is awarded by the Fundació Ramon Llull, composed by the Institut Ramon Llull and the Principality of Andorra, and it is given to a foreign person or institution that has promoted relevant projects that strengthen knowledge of Catalan culture abroad. Since the inception of the Foundation for Iberian Music, Sato Moughalian has collaborated with director Antoni Pizà and conductor Ángel Gil-Ordóñez on numerous projects dedicated to Catalan music. Ms. Moughalian has received this award for her commitment to the dissemination of Xavier Montsalvatge’s work in the United States, particularly for the concert at the Morgan Library and also for the forthcoming recording of Montsalvatge’s music issued by Naxos, both projects realized under the auspices of the Foundation for Iberian Music. The Foundation for Iberian Music has been committed to Catalan music, collaborating with many contemporary composers, such as Benet Casablancas, Joan Valent, Héctor Parra, Salvador Brotons, Anna Cazurra, Antoni Parera Fons, and many others. In addition, the Foundation has organized seminars and events dedicated to historical figures in Catalan music, including Robert Gerhard, Joaquim Homs, and Carlos Surinach, and topics such as Schoenberg in Barcelona, the Nova Cançó, and early jazz in Catalonia. The Foundation for Iberian Music also hosts the Mompou Chair on Catalan music.
Event Video: Flamenco on Film 24 July 2013: The roundtable “Flamenco on Film” that was held at the Graduate Center on July 2, is now available to watch on YouTube. In collaboration with the Dance on Camera, the Foundation for Iberian Music hosted a screening of three flamenco documentaries followed by a roundtable discussion with flamenco scholars and experts. This film screening was in conjunction with other concurrent flamenco events such as “Flamenco: 100 Years in New York” at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. To see the streaming videos, click on the links below. Flamenco on Film part 1 Flamenco on Film part 2 Flamenco on Film part 3
La dansa de l’arquitecte on Catalunya Ràdio 19 July 2013: Aired on July 7, Catalunya Ràdio recently interviewed Antoni Pizà about his latest publication La dansa de l’arquitecte. To listen to the entire interview, visit the website of Catalunya Ràdio or click on the player below. https://fredgatesdesign.co/brookfinal/PreviousUploads/CatalunyaRadio_PIZA.mp3
El Amor Brujo: Performance and Colloquium 22-23 March 2014: The Artist-in-Residence of the Foundation for Iberian Music, Perspectives Ensemble and conductor Ángel Gil-Ordóñez will present with Peridance Contemporary Dance Company the ballet El amor brujo by Manuel de Falla. The ballet will be performed consecutively on Saturday, March 22 and Sunday, March 23. On the morning of that Sunday, there will also be a round-table discussion on de Falla’s music and choreography. Participants will include the writer Antonio Muñoz Molina, Perspectives Ensemble choreographer Igal Perry, and the Foundation’s director Antoni Pizà.
Upcoming Concerts: New York Andalus Ensemble 19 July 2013: This Fall the New York Andalus Ensemble will perform two concerts at the Graduate Center’s Elebash Recital Hall and Proshansky Auditorium. The first performance will be on November 5 in Elebash and is part of the Graduate Center’s Public Program concert series City of the World. The ensemble will be accompanying cantors in the Sephardic (Spanish) traditions of Hebrew music from the Levant and North Africa. The second performance on December 17 will be in Proshansky Auditorium and is the ensemble’s seasonal show. More information to follow.
New Performances of “Songs of the Infinite” 8 October 2013: The Foundation for Iberian Music’s Composer’s Commission 2010 “Songs of the Infinite” by Miguel A. Roig-Francolí will be performed in a free concert at Werner Recital Hall at the University of Cincinnati on October 8. “Songs of the Infinite” first premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2010 and continues to receive positive reviews. The next New York performance of this piece will be at Carnegie Hall on November 17 for the 60th Anniversary of Roig-Francolí.